The present invention relates to an automated player for playing stringed instruments. More specifically, it relates to an automated apparatus for playing unmodified, traditional stringed instruments such as the guitar.
Automated musical instruments have been in use for some time, and percussion instruments such as pianos, accordions, drums, marimbas, cymbals, etc., as well as wind instruments such as organs and calliopes have traditionally been the object of automation. For example, automated pianos known as player pianos have been in existence for well over a century. The use and operation of such player pianos are well known.
The automation of stringed instruments, conversely, has not been met with a great deal of success by manufacturers of automated instruments. Unlike the automation of percussion or wind instruments, many stringed instruments require more than a single action to result in a played note. Musicians play traditional stringed instruments, such as the guitar, by plucking or strumming the strings with one hand while pressing the individual strings against the neck or fingerboard of the instrument with the fingers of the other hand. When a string is depressed in such a manner, it bridges over raised metal ribs in the fingerboard or xe2x80x9cfrets,xe2x80x9d thus shortening the portion of that string available to vibrate after being plucked or strummed. A shorter vibrating portion results in a higher pitch for that string than occurs when the full length is allowed to vibrate, thus allowing many notes to be played on a single string.
Another method employed by musicians to manipulate the sounds produced by a stringed instrument includes stopping or xe2x80x9cdampingxe2x80x9d the vibration of the strings before the natural dissipation of vibrating energy. Damping is accomplished by a variety of methods including using the side of the plucking or strumming hand, releasing or changing the fret position of depressed strings with the other hand, or lightly touching the strings with available fingers.
To accomplish this multi-action (plucking, fretting and damping) on stringed instruments, the prior art devices have required physical modification of the traditional instrument or large, unwieldy structures that are difficult to set up and effectively use. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automated player having an automated plucking, fretting and damping means that is separate and independent from the instrument, but may easily be attached or mounted to an unmodified stringed instrument. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated player for stringed instruments that can pluck or strum the strings and selectively fret the strings and that includes an electronic circuit control system to produce music from pre-programmed or serially downloaded music programs. Furthermore, since the present invention operates without the need of a musician there are no human limitations, such as number of fingers, so music can be programmed and played that would be impossible for a human musician to perform.
An automated player for playing stringed instruments that may be easily mounted to an unmodified stringed instrument. The automated player includes a rectangular body having a first end and a second end. The first end is adapted to house one or more plucking mechanisms. The second end is adapted to house one or more fretting mechanisms.
The plucking mechanisms include a rotary plectrum assembly adapted to be placed with its rotational axis parallel to the axis of an instrument string and in intermittent mechanical communication with the instrument string. The rotary plectrum assembly includes a plurality of radially extending spokes, said spokes including radially extendable quills for displacing or plucking the instrument string as the plectrum assembly is rotated. The plucking mechanism includes a plectrum driver operable and in mechanical communication with the plectrum assembly to impart controlled rotational movement to the rotary plectrum assembly. The plucking mechanism further includes an actuator assembly having an actuator driver operable and in mechanical communication with the radially extendable quills for controllably adjusting the radial extension of the quills, thereby increasing or decreasing the amount of string displacement during a rotational pass of a quill, and hence the volume produced by the string.
The fretting mechanisms include a carriage assembly having a carriage and a carriage driver. The carriage is adapted to be in mechanical communication with the carriage driver and is positioned such that it is in compressive communication with a string of the instrument. The carriage driver is operable to provide controlled linear movement of the carriage along a suitable length of the instrument string.
The automated player includes an embedded electronic circuit to control the drivers and actuators from programs installed in random access memory or installed via a serial connection to a compatible computer or other MIDI device. The embedded electronic circuit, upon proper input from stored programs or serially downloaded programs, controls the mechanical operation of the plectrum driver, actuator driver and carriage driver to respectively rotate the rotary plectrum assembly, energize the actuator assembly and move the carriage to desired positions to produce the desired musical note.